Are your dry mouth symptoms chronic or internmittent?

[alwaysimproving]

Basic question for someone who is unsure of what he has.

If you think back to when you first started experiencing this did your symptoms flare up and suddenly dissapear then come back again but longer?
I'm experiencing that at the moment with dry mouth.

[Limarie]

for me it is CHRONIC.......I have experienced dry mouth EVERYDAY of 2016!! Now everyday is not chronic but most of them are.

I don't work outside the home so I am able to drink whenever I need/want to so that helps a lot. But to some degree or another I experience dry mouth every single day!! And the ACT dry mouth lozenges are not working as well now as they first did......so I hope I can get something from my rheumy to help my dry mouth when I see him on 4/1.

[Judie P]

I have the systemic end of Primary Sjogren's, so I don't always have the dry mouth.  My daily problems is more numbness, essential tremors, digestive problems and muscle/joint pain.  I get dry mouth when my stress level is up or I eat too much carbs or dairy.  So I could have a couple of days of dry mouth and then be fine for a while.

[Wal]

My only symptom is dry mouth. I have not tested positive for anything autoimmune or SJS related. My dry mouth started Jan 13 of this year. I've had symptoms to some degree everyday. Some days they are mild and other days moderate to severe. Sometimes the days starts mild and ends severe. I'm still trying to figure out my triggers. There have been some days where I've been "nearly" symptom free for several hours then it goes back to mild dryness. It is consistently inconsistent but always there to some degree. Usually it's my tongue and throat that's dry.

[SunshineDaydream]

Chronic, but not severe to the point my tongue is stuck the roof of my mouth or my lips are stuck to my teeth like some in the forum may experience. Chronic and a daily baseline of moderate level of severity. Not mild.

I always have lozenges, gum, water and/or evoxac with me and use them.

[Nymph]

My dry mouth is intermittent. Same with dry eyes, and every other symptom I experience except fatigue. I almost always have fatigue.

[bluegardenia]

dry almost every day, sometimes less sometimes more and some lucky moments  suddenly a lot (or normal? cant remember) of saliva, it can last minutes, or a few hours.  cannot understand why, no different meds, no different food. may be better mood, may be the weather, dry days and wind are terrible .

[ohiolady]

Chronic severe but with Evoxac it is manageable.

Anna

[Wal]

Isn't strange bluegardenia? To have almost no symptoms for a few hours? I really wish I knew the trigger!

[Joe S.]

Mine are Very intermittent...I take a sip of water, swish it around, and swallow it. Then within minutes, I have to do it again.

[cccourt1942]

If you think back to when you first started experiencing this did your symptoms flare up and suddenly dissapear then come back again but longer.

Interesting query.  Due to my profession, I can't recall a time I wasn't thirsty at different times during a day, month, season.  But now that you mention it....and I measure my life now (when I am old, widowed, live alone and no longer work...AND have time to wonder this very question in my life day to day) I think I have figured out how it varies in MY body.

FIRST: It's how much I talk during any given day.  If I have to talk on the phone early in the a.m.---let's say several phone calls...I can tell I am ready for my early afternoon pilocarpine dosage.  AND...I have increased my first dosage to 10mg.  My afternoon and p.m. dosages are 5mg each.  Again---if I am out in late afternoon where I do almost any amount of conversation...my nighttime dosage is pushed up...and I wake up at least twice a night needing to grab a dollop of the Biotene oral gel. 

SECOND:  THIS time of year in TX.  A/C one afternoon; Heat the next morn.  I spend as little time outdoors this time of year due to pollen.  When I have to break down and take an antihistamine, I cut one in half.  They can dry up that precious mucous dripping out of (still DRY) nose!!.  I take it mainly due to itchy eyes and sneezing spells! 

THIRD:  ANYTHING physical where I have breathed deeply--and realize I revert to breathing thru my mouth---for whatever reason.  Not often..but does happen.  When I am out in the yard with my lawn care guys, I am bending, moving, asking advice, etc---and after that I am so thirsty.  We know the water is effective for about as long as it takes to swallow it.

NOW...I'll answer your question:  intermittent for decades--and by dx time, chronic.  Now it had been chronic for at least 5+ years.  But ---I was still working.  I thought nothing of it as I never met a speech therapist who didn't consume copious amounts of water.  I will say this: I ALWAYS wondered why I craved water by late afternoon.  It was SjS craving.  And..it happened on work days or not.  Just my body.

This has to be a disease which ebbs and flows.  Too many tales on this forum which reflect that reality.  By the time your salivary and lacrimals are atrophied, it's a different ball game.  That's where I am with SjS.

Sorry this is so long.  Happy Easter.
c3

[Deb 27]

Mine is pretty chronic at this point. Some days seem better than others though and then some days are real bad. I think some of the medications I take can make the dry mouth worse, like antidepressants.

[Maria3667]

Chronic, but gets worse before period or before coming down with something like flu or cold.

[Kathy57]

Mine is chronic.  I take the maximum dose of Evoxac daily and I can't skip.  I've started taking Ubequinol for the dry mouth and it has helped some, but I've been going through a flare this week with low grade temp and I feel more dry. 

I feel that the Evixac has helped so much but I sip fluids frequently and chew gum and suck on sugar free candy.  I was feeling pretty good but I'm going through a little flare now.  Hope it ends soon.  I went on vacation for two weeks and even though it was fun, there was some stress and exposure to sick grandkids.  I think I got a bad virus from one of the grandkids.

I felt the Ubequinol was really helping some and I think when I get over this respiratory infection/ flare, that I will feel less dry.

I've been told that my salivary glands are pretty damaged.  Hope you feel better soon.

Kathy

[ibtrue]

Hi alwaysimproving,
A little over two years ago I started experiencing what I thought was a dry sore throat.  I went to an ENT and he put me through two regiments of antibiotics to no avail. I was referred to a rheumatologist and the blood work didn't have the markers for a dx of Sj?gren's but she said along with my chronic dry eye syndrome (which was dx about 5-6yrs ago) I had the symptoms of Sj?gren's syndrome.  She put me on Evoxac and it helped a little.  I have sugar free lozenges around me 24/7 along with water to sip. I also use Biotene mouthwash before bedtime. When I was a director of nursing and had to speak a lot my dry throat felt like the Sahara. I recently started taking 100mg of Ubiquinol co-enzyme 10 and I believe I've had some relief after about one month of it. It was chronic before and now it seems intermittent. I'm praying to get it to be alwaysimproving as well as for all others going through this.  Godspeed